PHILADELPHIA -- Jesús Luzardo knew it wasn't going to be easy to right the ship on Wednesday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park.
Coming off possibly the worst two-start stretch in MLB history, Luzardo had the unenviable task of facing a Cubs team that has arguably the best offense in the Majors.
But as it turns out, it's easier to pitch when opposing hitters don’t know what's coming.
Luzardo and the Phillies seemed confident leading up to Wednesday's start that they had discovered some pitch-tipping issues from those previous two outings in which Luzardo gave up 20 runs in just 5 2/3 innings. They believed hitters had an idea of what Luzardo was about to throw, though they didn't divulge exact details for obvious reasons.
Whatever it was, the left-hander certainly seemed to have it fixed in Wednesday's 7-2 win against the Cubs. Luzardo struck out 10 and walked zero over six innings of one-run ball.
“I don't think anyone else on the planet wanted it more than I did,” Luzardo said.
Luzardo’s gem came against a Cubs offense that entered the day not only leading the Majors in runs per game (5.6), but also striking out at the fifth-lowest rate (20.2%). He had all of his pitches working, inducing five swings and misses with both his four-seamer and changeup, and three apiece with his sweeper and slider.
“He really executed today,” manager Rob Thomson said. “Pounded the strike zone, changeup [and] slider were both really good, lots of weak contact, a lot of swing-and-miss. He was fantastic.”
That came as no surprise to Kyle Schwarber, who backed Luzardo’s effort with his 21st homer of the season.
“We were all excited to watch him get out there on the mound today and see what was going to happen,” Schwarber said. “We were like, ‘Never a third time.’”
This performance fell far more in line with Luzardo's first 11 outings of the season, when he went 5-0 with a 2.15 ERA.
"Obviously, the last two have been extremely frustrating," Luzardo said. " ... So just getting back on track is huge and, like I said, just a sense of relief that the stuff is still there and I feel great physically."
Meanwhile, Philadelphia’s offense turned in a much-needed bounceback of its own behind Luzardo. After Schwarber's blast in the third, Alec Bohm added a solo shot in the seventh on a day when the Phillies tallied five extra-base hits -- matching their total from their previous three games combined. Nick Castellanos narrowly missed adding a third homer, settling for a third-inning triple off the top of the railing above the left-center-field wall.
The Phillies had racked up 26 hits over the first two games of the series, but 23 were singles -- including a handful that didn't leave the infield. They had hit just two homers in five games since Bryce Harper's wrist injury before doubling that total Wednesday.
“I thought we swung the bats very well,” Thomson said. “In this series, we had a lot of hits -- a lot of singles, I understand that -- but I liked our approach.”
As refreshing as it was to see the bats break out, the Phillies know it'll take more than just one game to quell any long-term concerns about the offense.
Luzardo, though, likely quashed a lot of questions.
With Luzardo's recent struggles coinciding with him surpassing his innings total from an injury-plagued 2024 season with the Marlins, it was fair to wonder if perhaps there was anything physical plaguing the southpaw. He insisted he was healthy and his arm felt as good as it had early in the season -- and his velocity and spin rate metrics seemed to suggest that was indeed the case.
“As far as Luzardo, he’s got great stuff,” Thomson said. “Everyone is going to have some bad outings or back-to-back bad outings, but his stuff just outweighs everything.”
Opposing manager Craig Counsell shared a similar sentiment.
"It's three plus pitches -- it's a really good fastball, it's a good changeup and it's a good breaking ball,” Counsell said. “He did have two rough starts. But that's a good pitcher."
Luzardo returning to form not only bodes well for the Phillies’ rotation in the long term, but Wednesday’s start could have a potential postseason ramifications. With the win, the Phils clinched the season series over the NL Central-leading Cubs, giving Philadelphia the tiebreaker for home-field advantage if it comes down to that.
“It could play big coming down the stretch in the playoffs -- you’ve got to get there, so I’m not assuming anything,” Thomson said. “But that’s a good club over there, they can really swing the bats, so to win the series against them is huge.”